Advertising and Commercialization at the Turn of the 20th Century

Drew

Hoyt

Advertising and Commercialization at the Turn of the 20th Century

The late 1800’s and early 1900’s were a tumultuous time in the history of the United States. The relatively recent development of many world-changing technologies had paved the way for the movement of many American citizens into larger cities. The time was ideal for many ideas and customs that Americans now consider simple facts of life to develop. Not the least of these is the constant, in-your-face advertising that is now considered industry standard. At the beginning of the 20th century, advertisement began to permeate nearly all aspects of American culture through the use of techniques such as trade cards and inflammatory language, and set its roots  to evolve into the advertising that all Americans are familiar with today.

A typical trade card that would be passed out

During the 19th century,  the majority  of advertisements that could be seen were quite simple. Often written in plain  black text on white background, resembling the newspapers they were printed in, they would matter-of-factly state the name of the product in question, its purpose, price, and the company or organization responsible for its marketing. This practice of simple, matter-of-fact advertising began to fall out of favor, however, as citizens began to move into cities. With the rise of competition, and the presence of a larger, and easier to reach, target audience, advertisers began to shift their tactics to more pervasive techniques. One such technique was the use of trade cards, which could be easily passed out to pedestrians simply walking out on the sidewalk. These advertisers were making highly effective use of the(now well documented) power of suggestion. Being able to easily expand the knowledge of their products through techniques like trade cards helped to exponentially increase the market to which they could sell their goods. This was not the only technique advertisers employed to expand their markets, however.

A perfect example of inflammatory language with its use of "Mutilate"

Advertisers began to realize that, with the growth of competition, they would need to do more than simply state the purpose of their product to get people to purchase them. They needed people who saw their ads to think, “Wow! I need this product!”. The trend that emerged from this is the use of a much more radical and inflammatory style of ad. These new, radical ads would often attempt to tug at the heartstrings of the public. They would use inflammatory language in order to shock people into thinking deeper about the product, or even to make them feel incompetent for not purchasing it. This would help to elevate a product above similar products in the minds of the target audience.

Advertisers’ use of techniques such as trade cards and inflammatory language has helped American advertising become the powerhouse it is today. These new forms of advertising joined an immense time of change in American history, and certainly played a role in shaping the American economy into the powerhouse it is today.


Works Cited

Watkins, Julian Lewis. The 100 Greatest Advertisements: Who Wrote Them and What They Did. New York: Dover Publications, 1959. Print.

O'Barr, William M. Culture and the Ad: Exploring Otherness in the World of Advertising. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1994. Print.

Jones, Edgar R. Those Were the Good Old Days; a Happy Look at American Advertising, 1880-1930. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959. Print.

This Fabulous Century: 1910-1920. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1985. Print.